Tough Luck
by fanficfanatic5000
Summary: Ash Ketchum is going to middle school. But when times get tougher for him, can drama cause him crack under the pressure? Is being a pokemon master still possible for him after he has to make it through the dreaded place? Will he even win his battles in school? Will he finally get a girlfriend, or can he even pick the right friends? Ash just has to find how he can deal with this.
1. The First Day Begins

Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town, was going to his first day of middle school. There, he would learn the six main subjects, which where Math, Reading, Writing, History, Pokemon Training, and Battle Strategy Class. He was walking to the school with his best friend from Elementary school, Misty Waterflower. Despite their continuous arguments, Ash and Misty were still together, and had a friendship as close as one could be.

"Hey Ash," said Misty. Her orange hair gave her a bright look, and on this particular morning her hair matched the color of the sky as the sun rose. "What do you think our first day of middle school will be like?"

"I`m not sure Misty." Ash replied. While Misty was actually taller than him, he wore his brand new Red, White, and Black hat that his mother gave him to school, and It made him look equally as tall. He showed an eager expression as he walked on the side of the road, the school parking lot had just come into sight. "I hope it'll be really fun!" He added after a long pause.

"Yeah, your right. Because we are in this new school, you think we will have all of our classes together like we used to? And do you think any of our old friends will be there?"

"Of course, Misty! I bet everyone will be there. It's going to be fun, I think, as long as I have you there with me all the way."

"Pika, Pikachu!" Ash's Pokemon added. The little yellow mouse jumped and skipped along the path Ash and Misty were following. The little Pokemon was always with Ash wherever he went. Throughout all of Ash's childhood, Pikachu remembered, he and Ash would play many games together.

"Excuse me," a Man they didn't know said to them as they walked through the playground beside the school. "While your on school grounds, all pokemon must remain in their pokeballs."

"May I ask who you are?" Replied Misty, suspiciously wondering about the man.

"I am the principal here, and what are you two's names? I don't recognize you from around here."

"I'm Ash Ketchum, and this is Misty, nice to meet you sir"

"Okay, great! It seems like I am already getting to know the new students around the school. However, I'm sorry, but I will have to ask you again, Pokemon cannot wonder around the school, so please put them in their proper place."

"Yes sir, sorry Pikachu" Ash told his Pokemon, he didn't have to go in his pokeball very often, and he didn't like it either

"Pika, Pika" the Pokemon replied, giving Ash a dirty look.

Ash shot a beam of red light to recall the Pokemon to its "home"

Then it was time for Ash and Misty to begin their first day of school. They both wondered surprises awaited them.

"Will this new school prove to be a challenge?'' Ash was thinking in his head.

"What is going to happen here? My sisters spoke of life changing choices and drama, but are they telling the truth?" Misty was thinking about the school, too.

And then they walked into the school, together.

The first thing Ash noticed is a familiar face walking in front of them.

"I didn't expect to see YOU here" said Ash to a blonde walking in front of him.

"Ash! Misty! Don't you think this school is just lovely!?" Serena replied to Ash's yell.

Serena was one of their Elementary friends, even though the weren't that close, she spoke as if they were best friends. She wore her red hat today, it matched her red skirt and white shirt.

"Great! So Serena, and Misty, wanna go check out the class lists?" Asked Ash

"Okay..." Misty replied, wearily. After all, it was still early in the morning.

They walked down the hallway together, until they reached a wall with their class lists on them.

"Sweet!" Serena squealed after viewing the lists.

Why is she so excited? Ash wondered in his head. She must be a morning person...

"Us three have every class together!" Serena followed up, responding to the bored looks on the other's faces.

"Along with May, Drew, Paul, Dawn, Trip, Iris, and Gary" Misty listed off all ten of the students that they shared class with.

"Not Gary!" Ash accidentally yelled out.

"Look on the bright side, Ash, almost all of our elementary friends are in our classes" Misty replied.

Misty and Ash then began to argue about who would get the better final grade in the Pokemon training class, and who would do this and that before the other, and the argument ended with laughter from all three of the friends. No matter how much they wanted to be better than each other, they still were great friends.

And soon after, the bell rang, and the three had to hurry to class or they'd end up late. Misty and Ash picked seats next to each other, while Serena sat more towards the front of the class. The second bell rang, which meant class was just about to start.

"Now class, settle down!" Said a familiar voice to Ash and Misty.

Brock, Misty and Ash's neighbor and long time friend came through the door.

"Brock!" Misty and Ash said at the same time.

"I thought you were going to be a doctor or something" Misty teased.

"Umm... well Misty when the opportunity came up for me to teach about pokemon I just had to accept" Brock replied.

"Ha! Sounds to me like a doctor would be a lot better job! And you could find a pretty nurse to be married to forever there" Misty taunted again.

"WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP!?" Brock yelled, just as he always did when Misty and Ash would tease him about liking every girl that he sees.

"Brock your our teacher?" Ash asked. But WHY? He thought. Tough Luck I guess... I can tell this class will be hard to pass, there are so many distractions...

However, despite Ash's concerns, the morning classes flew by. Before he knew it, it was lunch time.

It was lunch time now, and Ash was sitting at a table with all of his best elementary friends. Misty was to his left, on his right was Drew, and sitting across from him was May.

And then, all of a sudden, Serena stood up from her table and walked over to Ash.

"Hey Ash, is it okay if I sit at your table?" Serena asked

"Of course you can!" May told her. Serena shot a look at her, but then went on to stare at Ash again

"Sure, but I don't know if there is much room at the table. It'll be a squeeze if we all want to fit." Ash answered.

"It's okay, I think we'll be fine!" Serena said as she pulled up a chair and sat down in between Ash and Misty at the table.

"So Drew, and May, how was your summer?" Ash wondered.

"Great!" May replied. "I went to the Kalos region on vacation with my brother Max to see all of the fairy Pokemon that live there, and it was awesome!"

"Yeah mine was good too," agreed Drew.

"Hey Ash, did you know that Brock was the cook here too?" Said Misty

"No, I didn't," Ash said still chewing on his sandwich. "But that must be why it tastes so good!" He nearly yelled.

"You're right Ash, the food is really good!" Serena smiled

Soon after, the bell rang, and the next class they would have is battle strategy class, where they would meet a new teacher and would have a challenge waiting for them.

"Why hello class! I am your Battle strategy class and Science teacher, Professor Oak. Some of you may know me, and some of you may have only heard stories, *cough*. Hello Gary, my beloved grandson and Ash, good day to you too."

Him TOO? Ash thought. Why?

"Okay class, for your first assignment on the first day of class, you will be assigned a partner, and then you will have to battle them one pokemon on one pokemon. Do not worry about who your partner is, they were pre-picked by the principal here. Now please do not release your Pokemon until we get to the outside battlefield." Professor Oak told his class.

Then, he began to read off the names of people's pairings

Gary vs Trip

Ash vs Paul

Misty vs Serena

Dawn vs Drew

May vs Iris

Then, the class began to walk to the battlefield.

"Good luck Ash!" Said Serena "I hope you win!"

"Thanks," Ash whispered back

When they were outside, the class waited. Then after about two minutes of waiting, Professor Oak yelled, "LET THE BATTLES BEGIN!"

First was Gary and Trip.

"Go, Serperior!" Trip said, throwing his pokeball into the air.

"Serrrr-perior!" The green, snake-like Pokèmon that was a grass-type called when came out of its pokeball.

"Alright, Blastoise, time to battle!" Gary yelled. He threw the pokeball In the air, and out came a red beam of light, releasing the blue water-type turtle with a brown shell.

"Blastoise get the first move and use Hydro Cannon!" Gary said. The Pokemon quickly followed its master's orders, jumped up and shot a large blast of water from the cannon that just appeared on its back.

"Serperior, dodge the water and use your dragon tail attack!" Trip reacted. The snake burrowed under the ground to dodge, and when it came back to the surface, it's tail was glowing purple.

"Now's your chance Blastoise, bite on the Dragon tail!" The Serperior was easily caught in the turtle's powerful bite attack.

"Serperior, No! Break free!" Trip yelled with anger and the fear of losing this battle was welling up inside of him. Trip began jumping up and down and was stomping his feet as hard as he could.

"It happened fairly quickly, in the first battle, Trip is losing the battle as his Serperior is caught in Gary's Blastoise's teeth. Class, as you see, type advantage isn't always the deciding factor in battles, as in this battle, type advantage would say Trip would win the battle but at this point it seems like..." Professor Oak never got to finish his sentence.

"Now, Blastoise, Finish it with skull bash" Gary said arrogantly, ignoring his grandfather. Snapping his finger, his Pokemon reacted.

"Serperior do your best, use Leaf Storm!" Said Trip. He yelled support at his Serperior.

The turtle's vice loosened a little as it flinched from the incoming leaves, but it retracted it's head to make the hit, and at this close range, the impact was deadly for the snake. It wasn't much longer.

The skull bash landed a direct hit. Afterword, Serperior crumpled over, too weak and unable to battle. So Gary won his match. The question in everyone else's mind was: How will I do in my match? Nerves were at a high.


	2. The Drama Begins

Tough Luck Chapter Two

After the first half of his day, Ash was prepared for his first battle class of the school year. He wanted to win to prove himself a Master. First, he had to get past a person he was familiar with, a kid that would put him down and bully him no matter what. Paul, his purple-haired, low spirited adversary.

"Ash, send out your Pokemon first" Professor Oak said, looking expectantly in his direction. After all, the Professor kept all of his Pokemon as a kid and was familiar with most of them.

"Okay Charizard, I choose you!" The Dragon emerged from the small red and white ball.

"Ursaring, standby for battle!" Paul exclaimed. His bear like Pokemon had a ring on its chest, and a tall frame. It was ready for a fight.

"Ash, you may begin." Paul told him.

"Okay Charizard, start it off with flamethrower!" The fiery beam landed a direct hit on the Ursaring, hit him square in the chest, and knocked him back some. The ring served it's purpose for Ash's Charizard to have a target.

"Ouch, Urisang took the hit!" Said Serena, wincing at the hard knock.

"Now Charizard, use Dragon Tail" Ash shouted out. Just like move by Serperior in the battle before, Ash's Charizard's tail began to glow.

"Ursaring, dodge, and use focus blast." Paul commanded casually, just like it was a normal day sitting at home.

His Ursaring easily moved out of the way, and Charizard slammed the ground beside the bear. Ursaring began charging a yellow ball of energy, and then released its energy at the dragon that was in close range. The blast went flying straight for Charizard and hit him square in the left wing.

"Wow, it looks like that focus blast landed a direct hit!" Dawn, a blue haired old friend of Ash's called from the stands.

"Yeah it sure did," May answered, sitting beside her.

"Alright Charizard, hang in there, I know you are strong enough to take the hit! Now, Use slash!" Ash exclaimed, confident in his Pokemon's ability.

"Dodge it," Paul said, equally confident.

"Now's your chance Charizard! Use your Flamethrower and follow it with wing attack!" Charizard was still relatively close to Ursaring on the battlefield. It was one move directly followed by another, and they both hit their target.

"Ursaring, hold strong." Paul shouted at his Pokemon.

"Charizard, We can finish this now! Hit him with Slash!"

"Ursaring counter that with Hyper Beam!"

As Charazard flew in close again to make its move, Ursaring began charging another ball of energy, this time bigger and more powerful. Both moves were hits, it was a clash of strength.

After the smoke from the collision rolled away, it was obvious to everyone watching that both Pokemon were down. Both trainers yelled, for their Pokemon to stand, and slowly Charizard rose to its feet. Not long after, Ursaring pushed itself off the ground. For a quick moment there was a standoff, but it wasn't long before Paul's Ursaring collapsed over again, this time with swirls in its eyes to tell everyone that it had no energy to continue. Ash's Charizard would emerge victorious.

"Good job Ash!" Serena said, jumping up and down in support.

Both trainers recalled their Pokemon to their Pokeballs, flashing a beam of red light to pull them back.

"You were amazing out there Charizard!" Ash exclaimed to his ball.

"Looks like we have some more training to work on." Paul sighed.

"Thanks." Ash replied to Serena as he sat back down.

A few moments later, she stood. "My battle is next! See ya! Wish me luck" Serena whispered to him.

"I will, good luck Serena." Ash shouted in support.

A little later, Misty and Serena had sent out their Pokemon. It was Misty's Starmie versus Serena's Fennekin.

Simultaneously, Serena's Fennekin had taken two super-effective Water Gun Attacks that had weakened it. However, Misty had gotten a little prideful of her type advantage and her Starmie was equally weakened by several scratch and bite attacks. Misty had no idea how low her Pokemon's health actually was.

"Fennekin, finish this battle with Ember!" Serena commanded

"Ha, you think that'll finish us!? We still have a lot left! Starmie, take this attack so that you can get a close shot on Fennekin and then finish it with water gun!" Misty taunted.

The Ember attack hit Starmie, and much to Misty's surprise, her Pokemon fainted.

"Starmie, No!" Squealed Misty

"Starmie is unable to battle, So Serena wins this battle, despite a type disadvantage." Pointed out Professor Oak.

Then there were the rest of the battles later, Drew beat Dawn and May beat Iris afterword.

The day was over sooner than Ash expected. But the drama was far from over. He and Misty were walking down the long, narrow exit hallway and they would walk home together, just like every other day in elementary school. But Misty however, wanted to speak to Ash alone all day.

"Hey Ash, don't you think that Serena is trying to get in between you and me?" Misty asked curiously.

"No, not really, I just think she wants to be friends with us too." Ash replied.

"Come on Ash Ketchum, don't you see it?"

"No, Misty Waterflower, I don't."

"Well, maybe your so oblivious to the truth, you will never notice. But I take offense to her trying to take you from me."

" I don't think one event of her sitting between us means that she wants to be in the middle of us. And since when was I YOURS, Misty?" Ash cried out

"You were my friend Ash! I don't want her to take away our friendship!" Misty yelled back

"I can have as Many friends as I want, and still have you as my best friend!" Ash replied

"Well, that's pretty big talk for a 13 year old boy who doesn't even know who his father is, or even care! And I guess your mom didn't teach you what friendship was truly about either." Misty finished.

"Misty... that hurt... please take it back so I know you didn't mean it," Ash said in a whisper voice.

"YOU KNOW ASH, MAYBE I DID MEAN IT!" Misty replied.

"Well here is what I have to say, Misty, I will be close friends with Serena because I don't care what you think about me!" It was the only comeback ash would have the mental strength to throw at her. He really did care about his friend. They have been best friends since they were in diapers. But the comeback seemed to work.

"If that's how you feel..." Misty ran out the double doors sobbing.

Now Ash felt terrible. When he got home, he was crushed. He began to cry into his pillow on his bed in his room. He had screwed up this time. A great friendship gone. They have had several arguments, but nothing like this. It completely tore them apart. He reached for his phone, but he couldn't gain the strength to. Besides, after what she said, she didn't deserve him, did she?

For the rest of the day Ash didn't stop thinking about the incident. It made him wonder about so much in his life. It drove him to the verge of tears when he thought about what she said about him. It drove him insane when he thought about what he said back. It was only the first day! He thought to himself. How could it have gone so wrong the first day back?

The situation was on his mind for the rest of the night, thank goodness they didn't give him homework on the first day, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to think about it straight. He couldn't think when he even tried his hardest. He skipped dinner to avoid seeing his mom while he was so torn up. He was surprised she didn't come to check on him, maybe she assumed he was already asleep. His eyes burned and his head ached. Ash sat up to read the clock, only to see it was 11:27 and he was still lying awake, unable to fall asleep.

He didn't get much sleep that night and struggled to get up out of bed early in the morning. His alarm went off, beeping, beeping louder and faster until he hit snooze. Three times this repeated until he finally got up. Once he was ready, he realized that he couldn't walk to school today. What if he ran into Misty!? So he ran into the kitchen to ask his mother to drive him. Thankfully for Asb, she said she would be willing to.

About an hour later, Mrs. Ketchum pulled up to the school after the car ride with her son.

"Thanks for driving me here mom" Ash told her.

"That's fine, have a great day! Don't forget to have Pikachu return to its pokeball!" His mom told him.

"I will!

As the car pulled away Ash began walking up the stairs leading to the school entrance. On his way, he saw Serena sitting on one of the steps by herself.

"Hey Ash!" Serena called out

"Picachu, return!" Ash said, holding out Picachu's pokeball, and shot a red beam of light to recall it.

"How are you Ash?" Serena asked.

"Good, I'm still kinda hurt from me and Misty's argument yesterday." Ash had talked with Serena last night over the phone about their first day.

"Do you know about what Professor Oak said?" Serena questioned

"No, what was it" He responded

"All of the trainers that won yesterday get to have another match! Isn't that so exiting?"

"Yeah! It sure is! I'm so exited! I can't wait"

"Ash, you are so cute when you get exited about things"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Well Ash, that means I like you!" Serena blushed

"Oh... Okay..." Ash replied hesitantly. He had never thought of it that way, it would also defiantly be a first time experience for him. Then he ran through some scenarios in his head. I think this might've been what Misty was talking about, why was I just so thick-headed not to listen to what she was trying to say? She wouldn't have told me that for no reason. She was my best friend. Now I feel even worse... He grieved himself in his mind. But Serena is a good friend, too. But how do I respond to that? I don't LIKE her, but I wouldn't want to upset her. Ash thought.

His head hurt again, he could feel another headache beginning.

"Uh are you okay Ash?" Serena asked him. A few seconds after he didn't respond. She asked a different question. "So um... Ash, would you like to be my boyfriend?"

"Yeah, sure Serena, why not?"

"Great Ash!" Serena squealed, still wondering why his response seemed so unsure. At this moment, she was too excited to care. HE SAID YES! she thought.

"Would you want to walk to class with me, Sere?" Ash asked her a bit unsure of himself.

"Sure, of course I will walk with you! We are a bit early though, just so you know." She replied.

"It's okay, it s good to be early sometimes," Ash responded.

As they walked through the doors and down the hallway, Ash wondered to himself. Great, what have I gotten myself into now? We're not even two days into Middle school!

End of Chapter


	3. Roller Coaster Emotions

"Hey Ash, what's wrong?" Serena asked Ash after their first class. She waited a bit, Swinging her foot back and forth. "Your worrying me!" She asked again.

"You know, I really wish Misty were here now. I feel bad about what what I said..." Ash bit his tongue, "I'm not really sorry though, she was just being rude to me!"

Serena hugged Ash. She didn't want him to feel like that.

"Even though I'm really not sure if I should apologize or not, I can be concerned about her," Ash said uneasily.

Serena thought he looked pale, and sickly.

"Are you sure you're okay, Ash? I know you two have been friends forever and all of that, but I don't want you to make yourself sick with worry..."

"Thanks for being concerned, but I'll be fine" Ash began walking to his next class after ending the short conversation.

Serena looked at her class list shortly after Ash had gone

·Math

·Pokemon history

·Reading/Writing

·Lunch

·Pokemon Training

·Battle Strategy

·Extra: Cooking, Pokemon Grooming

Afterword, Serena turned to go to Pokemon history class, her least favorite class of the day. She sighed, but continued walking.

"Hey Ash, what's up?" Called a familiar voice to ash.

"Dawn, hey! I didn't expect you to remember me, after all these years"

Dawn had blue hair, her partner was Piplup, the penguin, and she was Ash's old friend from a long time ago. Ash wondered how she even remembered him since they had been friends one year, they had been best buddies through the summer, but when school started, they always were in different classes.

Ash still had one person who always ended up in his class, Misty... Ash stopped the thought quickly. That didn't matter now, she isn't here.

"So Ash, long time no see, how have you been?" Dawn asked

"Well, good I guess, you know, still getting into the routine of things around here." Ash said, holding back how he really felt.

"I know you Ash, I know you well enough to know that something is wrong. Tell me, can't you trust me?" Dawn asked, showing a questioning look on her face.

Yeah, I'm telling you, I'll be fine, I just had an argument with Misty yesterday, and now she isn't here at school... just worried." Ash told her, in a whisper.

"Its all good, Ash. I know you'll be fine. If I could've waited all these years and not hated you, I think one day shouldn't be the end of you're friendship." Dawn said, confident in her statement.

Just then, the bell rang, and Dawn turned around to face the teacher, Brock.

At lunch, Ash, Serena, May, and Drew decided they would talk after school on an online chat room, and have fun.

Then it was time for Pokemon battle classes.

Professor Oak posted the lists of the round 1 winners and their new mashups outside, in the mini battle arena, on the bulletin board.

Ash vs. Serena

Gary vs. Drew

May: battles winner of Ash and Serena

"Okay class, watch these battles carefully. Ash, you may release your Pokemon.

"Hawlucha, I choose you!" Ash threw his pokeball In the air, and his Hawlucha came out in pose.

"Okay, go Fennekin!" Serena called for Fennekin, threw her pokeball In the air and did a spin.

"Serena, a brave move! You used the same pokemon as you used yesterday!" Professor Oak said. What he didn't know was that is her only Pokèmon.

"Fennekin, show Ashy what you're made of! Use flamethrower!" Serena called. Her fennekin jumped up, and shot a fiery blast at Ash's Pokemon.

Ash then said, "Hawlucha, size the hit up, and then use flying press." Hawlucha took the flamethrower to the wing, and jumped up, and did it's classic pose.

"Now Fennekin, use scratch." The two moves met and both hit their target.

And then, ash let his thoughts get in the way of the battle, something he has never done before. And soon after thinking about all of his problems, the battle was a blur for him. He remembered Hawlucha using high jump kick, missing, and getting hurt. That is when he thought: my Pokemon needs me!

"Fennekin, use Ember!" Serena told it, waiting for a result.

Ash had awoken at the wrong time, it was like a dream. He managed to say, "Hang in there," but it wasn't enough.

Hawlucha's eyes became swirls, telling everyone it was to weak to battle.

"Sorry Ash!" Serena said.

"Its okay, Serena, you deserved it. Great job." Ash said. Ash gave her a friendly hug. Ash may have said good job, But he was actually thinking one thing. 'Why me?'

~~Transition ~~

Ash was eager to find out about Misty. He was ready to go home to see his mom again, to tell her how his long day drove on and on. Ashy-Boy was exited to log onto everyone's favorite chatting site, an online chat room called Pokèchat, a webpage made for forum discussion for Pokemon trainers such as ash (with such an original name, he thought sarcastically.)

On the other side of town, Serena was waiting for Ash to log on to the webpage, so that she could talk to him, and Learn more about him. She was worried about him truly, and she knew how much Ash cared about his friends, especially Misty and his long-term friendship, but she couldn't let Misty Mess up the true love of her life, her dream boy, Ash Ketchum.

SerenaHeartAsh has logged on.

May and Drew had been friends forever. Even though it was sometimes a love-hate relationship, they made it work. As long as May could remember, they were there for each other. Whether it was going to the playground and swinging to battling Pokemon against each other in the kid Contests, they did everything together. May thought their friendship was a lot like Ash and Misty's. She knew that she had to do something to help them. Not only that, she was a little concerned about Ash and Serena. So she logged on.

May10Maple has logged on.

Drew didn't really have much to say about this whole idea, but Ash is his friend whom he must stand for, and May is his best friend, who thinks they need to do this for the sake of the group. So he really had no other-or better for that fact-idea than to go along with what they were doing.

I'mDrew has logged on.

Misty just skipped school today. She really felt sick, and her three sisters just let her stay at home. But Misty did know that she had a chance of talking to her friends on Pokèchat. And sure enough, when she checked, Serena, May, and Drew were on.

FreeSpiritMisty has logged on

Ash finally got home.

"Hey sweetie, how was school today?" Ash´s mom asked him.

"Mister Mime!" Mr. Mime, his mom's personal maid and helper Pokemon stood by.

" Well..." Ash said, very hesitantly. "It was a really long day, that's for sure. I lost my battle in Professor Oak's class, but Brock's meal was very good at lunch. I guess most importantly mom..."

"What is it Ash?"

"Oh, well Misty didn't come to school today. I am going to find out where she was pretty soon, though." Ash replied, ready to run to his computer any second.

"Okay Ash, just don't go crazy now, okay?" His mom told him

"Okayyy Mom..." Ash told her. " I'm not a little kid anymore, you know?" And with that comment, ash ran for his room. He logged on to Pokèchat.

GottaKechumall has logged on.

GottaKechumall: Hey guys, how's it goin' ?

May10Maple: Hey Ashy-Boy

I'mDrew: Hey dude what's up?

FreeSpiritMisty: Hey Ash

May10Maple: Misty! Where were you today? We missed you!

FreeSpiritMisty: I was sick, really sick

SerenaHeartAsh: Sick, on the second day of school? How unlucky is that!?

I'mDrew: It happens...

May10Maple: Hey, haven't you heard the news?

GottaKechumall: May!

FreeSpiritMisty: Does it have something to do with Serena's username?

SerenaHeartAsh: Yeah! Ash and I are dating! Isn't that exiting!?

Misty knew it. In her room, she nearly burst into tears. It brought back the argument, the anxiety sickness, everything. Her best friend had abandoned her. She knew she couldn't handle what was happening alone.

FreeSpiritMisty has logged off.

It reminded her of a phrase Ash Ketchum loves to use.

Tough Luck.

Ten minutes later Misty was ready to face the others again.

FreeSpiritMisty has logged on

GottaKetchumall: Hey Misty are you okay?

FreeSpiritMisty: Yeah, just felt sick for a second, like I was gonna throw up or something

May10Maple: I'm sorry Misty, I know it sucks being sick and all, but aren't you sooo happy for Ash and Serena?

FreeSpiritMisty: Yeah! Of course... I am definitely happy for you two but you know I definitely support you all and hope you go far Ash and Sere... and remember, I am always here!

SerenaHeartAsh: Thanks Misty, you're such a good friend!

I'mDrew: May, what about our day today!?

May10Maple: Ohh, how could I forget? It was pretty fun

GottaKetchumall: Yeah it's not easy to forget a day when Drew is involved!

I'mDrew: Hey, what's that supposed to mean?

GottaKetchumall: Eh it was nothing

I'mDrew: That's what I thought!

FreeSpiritMisty: So what was so great about today?

SerenaHeartAsh: It was a pretty fun day, the food was great too, it makes me feel good about what's to come this year. Hey Misty, I beat ash today in battle! It was awesome!

May10Maple: Yeah you did great!

GottaKetchumall: If I had to lose I'm glad it was to you, Sere

FreeSpiritMisty: Great job Serena!

I'mDrew: Yeah, hey Ash, want to meet me at the park?

GottaKetchumall: sure I guess I will meet you there in twenty minutes?

I'mDrew: Sure dude

May10Maple: bye dudes, don't do anything too crazy...

SerenaHeartAsh: Bye Ashy-Boy!

I'mDrew Has logged off

FreeSpiritMisty: Bye Ash

GottaKetchumall: Bye girls, see you tomorrow

GottaKetchumall has logged off.

Misty was just waiting for this opportunity to talk to the girls without Drew, or Ash being there to listen. Now, she has to find the right time to tell the girls the truth.

May10Maple: Sooo Girls...

SerenaHeartAsh: Yeah what's up May?

May10Maple: The guys always go out to the park or go to a restaurant, do you think we should go out sometime, like to the mall to go shopping or get our nails done or something?

May10Maple: Of course when you aren't sick Misty, we couldn't leave you out!

SerenaHeartAsh: Sounds good with me

FreeSpiritMisty: Yeah sounds fun

SerenaHeartAsh: So we should definitely figure a good day out then!

FreeSpiritMisty: Totally!

SerenaHeartAsh: And what do you think about our Pokemon team for football this year? Even though it's our first year at this school, I feel so connected to the Pokèsports here. I think it's awesome to see the Pokemon run around playing the human sports!

May10Maple: I know! I like the little underdog of our basketball team, where you have big players like Goodra, Snorlax, Slaking, or Haxorous, you know all the big Pokemon, and our star, little Ninjask, he basically flies right between the feet of all those big guys!

FreeSpiritMisty: And then our little cheerleaders, I think dawn's Piplup and Buneary are the best!

SerenaHeartAsh: They are so cute!

May10Maple: I know, they are really amazing aren't they!?

SerenaHeartAsh:You know, I really think she deserves the compliments!

May10Maple: You think so?

SerenaHeartAsh: Of course!

SerenaHeartAsh: And I think you deserve complimenting too, your cheerleaders are good also.

May10Maple: You mean Beautifly and Skitty?

SerenaHeartAsh: Yeah! They are so cute!

May10Maple: Thanks!

SerenaHeartAsh: Your Welcome, you deserve all compliments too!

FreeSpiritMisty: Well I hate to break up the complimenting, but I guess there is something I have been waiting to tell you girls...

SerenaHeartAsh: Yeah Misty, Anything.

May10Maple: Misty it's time to fess up. I know your not sick. You can be honest, what's the real problem? You can be honest with us, we are your friends.

FreeSpiritMisty: Yeah May, I know... I'm not really sick, okay? Me and Ash got in a sort of a fight and I just can't really make it without him, I mean we have been friends forever... I'm so sorry I lied to you...

SerenaHeartAsh: Misty you didn't have to hide that from us, we are all friends here.

FreeSpiritMisty: I lost my battle, I would've had to sit through two classes anyways...

May10Maple: Well I tell you what, even though things may be changing, I think it's time for us to promise something. We should promise to all stick together, through good and bad times, no matter what. And no guys can keep us from that.

FreeSpiritMisty: Yeah, I promise, I need all the help I can get.

SerenaHeartAsh: I promise, sisters forever.

May10Maple: I must remind you Misty, no matter how much you feel like the fifth wheel, remember that you have us.

May10Maple: We can make it through this together.

FreeSpiritMisty: Okay, thanks. I guess I will see you tomorrow. Time to say goodbye.

May10Maple: Bye ladies

May10Maple has logged off

FreeSpiritMisty has logged off.

Meanwhile, Serena looked at the perfect scenario she had set up. She acted as the team player, the nice, supportive one. But she had her Ashy-Boy. He was enough for her. She may have came off as the dumb one, but she knew about the fight already. She also assumed that Misty wasn't sick. She was quiet, and somewhat sneaky, she thought- complimenting herself. Now she just had to figure out what to do next.

All she knew is that she had no time for anything that would get in the way of her relationship. Who cares if certain people are at risk of a loss because of their friendships?

Tough Luck, get over it.

End of Chapter.


	4. Decisions

Tough Luck Chapter 4

Ash and Drew sat at the top of an old, rusty slide at the park. Most of the time the guys were there, they made small talk to buy time. There wasn't really much for them to talk about. Or if there was something they wanted to talk about, it hadn't been said.

That was, until Ash asked one of the many things on his mind at the time.

"So Drew, how far do you think Serena and I can go with our relationship?" Ash questioned, after a long period of silence. Ash shifted awkwardly and uncomfortably.

"I really don't know about what your doing Ash, honestly" Drew replied, very relaxed. His green hair was blowing in the wind while he was sitting at the top of another metal slide. "Maybe I am overreacting to it, but we'll just have to see..." His voice trailed. "You know I really like May and I have for a while but I definitely am not jumping into a relationship on the second day of school." May had been Drew's crush for a long while, he always did his best to show off, with his own slightly arrogant style added in throughout. In his mind, however, he was never sure if she liked him back the same way. Even if she did, he appreciated the friendship that they had. He wasn't going to give that up, or lose it like Ash and Misty did. He felt sympathy for Ash because of what happened, it made him wonder what It would be like to lose his best friend.

"Don't you feel good out here? Such a beautiful day, I think, but we're getting to the point where we won't have many more of these days..." Ash said, abruptly changing the topic and interrupting the brief silence.

However, the quick change in seriousness didn't seem to affect Drew. "True," he replied, "We should make it last" he added while standing up.

It was indeed a beautiful, colorful, fall day. The wind was blowing, a light breeze, not too hot but also not too cold. Ash avidly stared off into space, thinking about his situation with Drew, his girlfriend Serena, his ex-best friend Misty, and everyone else that played a role in this interesting, ever-changing story that was his life. May, his friend's girl, Gary, his longtime rival, Brock, Professor Oak and all of the others at the school, Pikachu, his true best friend, those annoying, bratty adults that pestered him throughout his childhood, Team Rocket, and so many more names. How would it all work out?

"You know, Drew, I wasn't sure about my feelings at first. Maybe I wasn't ready for a serious relationship, but now... I'm thinking- What other option do I have? I mean I could always just go single and try to have as many friends as possible, but just from my experiences this year it doesn't seem like it's going to work forever, other people have things planned that they want to happen too."

Drew sighed. If his shoulders could drop any lower from the already relaxed position they were in, they did. "I understand where your coming from," he managed.

"Are you sure? I mean, this transition may be tough for everyone, but I feel at an all-time low right now..." Ash's voice trailed off.

"Yeah Ash, you're not the only one struggling to see the importance in any decision we are making at this point, you know? But I know after this year and the years that are coming that the choices and paths we take will affect the future, it'll shape who we are." Drew stated, not raising his voice, but sounding much more serious than before. "Did you think you are the only one having troubles, getting into arguments, and all of the other problems that have appeared? If you don't see it, that's a bit selfish of you."

The words might have been simple, but his sentence hit Ash hard. He must know about my feelings. There is someone who understands after all...

~~~~Transition~~~~

"Ash, someone is here to see you!" Ms. Ketchum yelled to her son.

The clock read 5:30 A.M. Who would want to see him this early in the morning? He was just about to hit the "SNOOZE" button on his pokeball-shaped alarm clock to put off getting ready for his third day of school this year, and he guessed someone really wanted to see him. Ash ran through the endless possibities in his head, and he figured that it was just his girlfriend Sere... He jumped out of bed and threw on a pair of jeans to go outside. He was thinking it could be so many others...

He was surprised that someone would come to see him this early, but he was just as surprised when he saw that carrot orange hair that he used to love. Ash wasn't ready for this, he'd had no time to prepare to talk to her, but was he ready to forget what she said? What if she doesn't want to make up at all? His stomach began to churn as he numbly walked out of his room to the porch, still not knowing what to say.

However, she got to the point pretty quickly. "Listen, Ash, I hope you aren't still upset about our argument..."

"And so what If I am?" Ash replied, snapping at her, and trying to hide how broken he actually was about the argument.

"Well I was coming to apologize to you, but if you don't care, well..." Misty said, trying to hold back the tears that could start pouring down her cheeks any second after Ash's first remark.

"I don't hear an apology," Ash shot at her

"Ash, I am really sorry, something like that shouldn't have happened on our first day back. Soooo sorry for everything" she pleaded.

"Why should I accept your apology now?" Ash sounded cold-hearted. He wanted Misty back. He missed the older and much simpler days... But he couldn't make this easy for her. "And I'm not asking you to take ME back, it will be my choice."

"I'm sorry again Ash," Misty muttered. "You know our group won't work without us getting along."

She is right... Ash thought. But he decided he wasn't ready to accept her back, not yet. "No" stated Ash numbly.

"What?" Misty said back. She heard him the first time, but she had to hear his answer again to believe it, it didn't sound like the Ash she knew.

"I won't accept."

This is when Misty couldn't stop the tears, the dreaded things. They gave away the hurt emotions she was trying to hide, and possibly deep down inside Ash felt too. At that moment they came down like a waterfall. Why? What happened to MY Ash, my childhood best friend? She stood up and walked off the porch, thinking she couldn't need him if he was THAT selfish. She yelled back, "Bye, good luck with your life! And don't come to me when you are hurt!" She walked away sadder than she had come, off into the pitch darkness that would soon be light, but she hurried away trying to muffle her sobs.

Little did she know, however, Ash was thinking something similar. He wanted to call out to her, tell her he was sorry, tell her that he missed her and tell her how important she was. What happened to the simple times? It was amazing how three days could change everything, your whole life. Drew WAS right. These decisions are important. But for now, he was just going to be happy and follow the paths that his life was heading now.


End file.
